Flames and Magic
by LoreilDarksky00
Summary: HP/KHR fanfics I may or may not continue. I just need to get them out of my head to make room for the things I'm working on /now/. 2 - Deathchild. Sawada Tsunami was more than just the last of Primo's line (Iemitsu didn't count); blood calls to blood, and the Master of Death will NEVER turn down family in need.
1. Dragon's Hoard - CH 1

If there was anything Xanxus knew, it was that strangeness in the slums was either a curse or a boon. Depended on the type, but it was usually hard to tell, so the smart ones steered well clear unless they knew for sure someone else' strangeness was gonna be useful.

When those eerie, glowing green eyes met his, Xanxus _knew_. So without so much as a word, he grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her to the abandoned shed that currently served as his base. He was still on edge, filled with the fury that had made the raging fire that had killed the men who killed his mother, just days ago, but those eyes…

They called to him. This little girl was like him－alone, but refusing to falter, choosing to thrive instead of wither. She was a survivor. And she was now his, because his instincts demanded it. She didn't quite fight his hold, but she refused to be lead around trailing behind him; she grabbed him right back and kept pace at his side.

When they finally reached the old shed, covered in dark ivy and the only safe entrance a small gap near the back wall only children could push through, he turned to face her, studying her properly. She looked thin, the wiry kind that meant she knew enough to find food, even if it wasn't enough. Her vivid green eyes burned, irritation and curiosity in equal measures.

"What's your name, trash?"

She blinked… then asked something in a language Xanxus had only heard a couple times, only enough to know a few insults and swears. Shit. She'd probably been nabbed by one of the bastard who worked for the flesh traders, brought back to Italy from wherever she'd been born. With a growl, he pointed to himself.

"Xanxus," he said firmly, then motioned to her.

Her eyes lit up in understanding, mimicking the self-pointing. "Freak."

And he was going to kill someone, someday, because even bastard slum kids got actual names. At least he understood that word, otherwise he might have let her keep it. He shook his head sharply, taking in her appearance. Her long, inky black curls, green eyes, and inner fire made him think of one thing.

"Thorn," he named her, and then spent the next week correcting her until she understood that it was her new name.

XxXxX

Thorn had magic. Since Xanxus had his own fire, it didn't really faze him－Thorn's power was more flexible than his was, especially after he insisted she practice with it. She could summon things to her, make things float, make them invisible to other people, change the shape of old wood to make cups and plates, make plants grow, create water… she could even shrink and unshrink things.

Xanxus was a smart kid. He realized that Thorn's power would be their ticket out of the slums, so long as no one else found out. By this point the boy was sick and fucking tired of the stress of slum life, always having to watch his back every second, always having to be planning something, anything, to stay ahead of the game. He'd already lost his mother to it. Honestly he just wanted to get himself and Thorn the fuck out. So he plotted.

With it being just the two of them, they had to be careful. He figured their best bet of getting away from both the cops and the mafia was to simply stay away from other humans. That meant roughing it in the woods, which meant they had to figure out how to live by themselves where there'd be nothing to steal from. Which meant they needed to steal lots of dry food and then store it－shrunk to save space－in stolen duffel bags. Thorns magic was crucial to the plan.

After a year of living together, she'd finally learned Italian, as well as taught Xanxus passable English. She suggested stealing as many types of seeds as possible－her bitch aunt had made her do all the gardening before they'd sold her, so she knew how to take care of plants, and they could use it to feed themselves.

What they also needed was as many clothes, blankets, and shoes as they could get their hands on, in as many sizes as they could find. Thorn could sew, so as long as they had material, they'd have things to wear and keep warm. Xanxus got very skilled at nicking all sorts of fabric to bring back to the shed, and a sewing kit from one of the meaner whores who liked to throw dirty water down at the street rats below her window. Thorn dutifully shrank everything and packed it away in preparation for their departure.

It took them another year before they were ready, and by then the mafia had their eyes on Xanxus. It was getting hard to evade them, even with Thorn's magic hiding their tracks.

"We've gotta leave now," he told her, already slinging one of their several packs over his shoulders. "They don't know where we live yet, so we gotta hit the woods and get as far as we can before they find out."

Thorn nodded. She didn't talk much, but her eerie green eyes were very expressive. She followed him as they snuck out into the night, heading away from the city and the slums, out into the wilderness that no one else was smart enough to use. Not that Xanxus cared about all the trash they were leaving behind, all the better for himself and his partner－because she was his equal, and like hell he'd let anyone else have his Thorn.

What neither child knew was that this was a major twist in fate, which would shake both the world of Flame users, and the world of magic users to their foundations.

Because one Holly Potter, AKA Freak, AKA Thorn, was lost to the wizarding world, to the ire of one Albus Dumbledore and all his plans. He couldn't find the girl, because her magical signature had changed out of necessity, and the time she accidentally shared blood with Xanxus altered the magical properties of her blood, making what samples the old wizard had useless.

Because one Vongola Don Timoteo Vongola was intent on having the rumored Wrath Sky under his thumb, and even though it would take them several years, he was determined to find the brat. It just never occurred to him to have his men go hiking to find Xanxus, which was why they only found him and Thorn by way of the Mist Arcobaleno.

XxXxX

Thorn was content. Despite the first few months being rough without any proper shelter, she and Xanxus were free of the slums. They had walked into the wilderness determined to never come out, and that's exactly what they'd done, traveling as far as they could every day. Eventually they'd judged themselves to be far enough away from that city (Thorn hadn't bothered to learn the name) to be safe, and found themselves a rather large abandoned animal den. They then set to turning it into somewhere to live, though she needed many breaks after using her power so much.

With her magic, Thorn willed the dirt around it to shift away, making the den larger, with actual rooms, almost the whole thing being entirely underground, safely hidden away from prying eyes. Xanxus insisted on their garden being accessible from their new home, so that they wouldn't have to risk being out in the open too much. She willed a wide hole to open up in the ceiling of the most remote room, to let in sunlight and rain for the plans.

They planted the vegetable and fruit seeds, and it was left to Thorn to grow them quickly, before their dry stores ran out. Meanwhile Xanxus taught himself to hunt, how to skin rabbits and deer and cook the meat while saving the pelts for whatever they might need them for. He was a natural hunter, with the instincts to match. Thorn thought it had something to do with the reason his eyes were a bloody red, but usually she just shrugged and moved on.

Over the months they pieced together shelves from whatever fallen wood they could get their hands on, turning the old den into a home. Xanxus taught any predators in the area to respect him, be wary of him, the now-ten year old able to wrestle and beat full grown wolves with vicious glee. He also made himself some weapons, with help from Thorn to get them the right shapes and materials. His collection of knives, bow and arrows, and a blood-stained spear lined the wall of the main room.

Honestly, Thorn thought this was probably the best place for them, considering her partner's instincts. Meanwhile, she made friends with the crows, the song birds, and local snakes, learning how to speak the languages so that they could be warned if any humans showed up in the area. She used her magic to will collected wood into cabinets and tables and chairs, willed clay from near the riverbanks into dishes and basins for water she willed into existence.

She was technically the homemaker and Xanxus was the protector and provider of meat. From what little she remembered of England, it was rather ironic that they'd made such a 'normal', relatively peaceful life once escaping the slums. Thorn was around eight now, teaching herself to cook properly using their fire pit and stone shaped by her magic into pots.

In the open-ceiling garden they had fruit trees and berries, all sorts of food-plants like potatoes and bell peppers and peas, anything with seeds that they could plant again, really. Xanxus had brought back some plants he'd seen animals eating when he was out hunting, which ended up being some kind of onion.

Basically, life was good for the two of them. They were happy here, had their own friends in the animals of their territory, they were warm during the winter and had an entire little underground mansion with magic-infused rocks to give them light. Had either known what Lord of the Rings was, they would have noted they'd made themselves a rather respectable hobbit-hole.

Petunia Dursley would have been baffled and irritated by the homey nature of the place, despite the walls being made of magic-packed earth.

So it stood to reason they didn't want to leave _their territory_. When humans entered the woods, the birds were off to warn Thorn, who instructed them to send Xanxus back to their den immediately. He arrived with a fully grown deer being dragged behind him by the antlers. Thorn took one look at the bloody carcass and curtly told him to take it through the back door. Blood was a bitch and a half to get out of the dirt floor even with magic, and they didn't need the smell attracting anything to the main rooms.

She hissed to the nearest snake to spread the word that the other humans were most certainly not welcome here, and to encourage them to leave the best they could without getting hurt.

XxXxX

Timoteo could hardly believe that he himself had gone out into the wilderness to search for that damned Wrath Sky. But he could not let such a powerful young Sky outside the hands of Vongola, so here he was, hiking through these woods with his Lightning and Cloud Guardians, along with a Rain and Mist, and some mooks from the CEDEFs ranks. It would have been almost relaxing if not for them being constantly dive-bombed by angry crows, finding themselves half a step away from venemous snakes, or being targeted by what felt like every mosquito in the damn country.

He'd had to pay a handsome amount to the Mist Arcobaleno in the first place to find out where the brat had gone. That might have been fine if it hadn't been out in the middle of fucking nowhere, but the risk of such a powerful young Sky being in some hidden base of a Famiglia other than Vongola had been enough of a threat that he would not wash his hands of the brat. If needed, he would claim the child was his bastard son, just to ensure his loyalty.

Of course, none of the group was prepared to find what looked like a hobbit hole, charmingly round front door complete with an actual doorknob surrounded by lush grass and wildflowers. There was even a little stone walkway.

"... Do… do we knock?" One of the mooks murmured uncertainly.

Timoteo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but couldn't deny he was intrigued. The Mist confirmed there was no trickery about this, that someone had actually built this little 'house'. It was very fairy tale-like.

A crow landed on the grass-covered hill that contained the hobbit-hole (and he could not for the life of him call it anything else, he would have to tell his mother about it－perhaps the thought of it would get her off his back for a few days about hounding him over his child-rearing skills).

The bird cawed loudly. A moment later the door opened, and a young girl with piercing green eyes and aristocratic features stepped out, narrowed eyes taking in him and his men. She was wearing a simple but clean dress of cotton, the fabric a shade of purple that made her eyes even more noticeable against her wild black ringlets. Her feet were bare, there was a neatly tied apron around her waist, and she had a sturdy-looking homemade broom in hand. She was also very obviously a Cloud, Active and bristling.

_This must be her territory, _Timoteo mused. How cute.

"Your kind aren't welcome here," she said bluntly. "I don't care what business you think you have, but these are our woods, and we don't want you here."

His Guardians bristled at the dismissive and outright hostile attitude, but he waved them off. Despite living in the wilderness, this was no savage or feral child.

"I'm actually looking for a relative," he began, knowing that despite the Sky brat not being his son, the few pictures they had as well as the confirmed Wrath Flames were a good indicator of the brat being a descendant of Secondo's. "He's a boy with black hair and red eyes, do you know him?"

She studied him carefully. "Why? Nobody out here needs the likes of you nosing around, we're all just fine with making our life here in our territory. None of us need to go back to those god-awful cities and the stupid humans there."

So young, so jaded… an ingrained distrust of other humans, especially adults. She was a stubborn little thing, but untrained, didn't know how to hide her tells. At least he knew where the Sky brat was, and unfortunately his Cloud Guardian. Depending on how long they'd been together, it might be impossible to break the Harmonization. That could pose a problem.

The sky rumbled ominously above them, the clouds dark and heavy with rain. The girl looked up, frowning, before she sighed. With a small growl, she shook her head.

"No use leaving you out here when the weather kicks up like this. But you best behave, or I'll kick you back out in the rain," she threatened, opening the door wider and waving them inside. "Get in, then."

Lips twitching to hide a smile, Timoteo had Visconti go in first, then followed, the rest of the group trailing behind. He noted that the little Cloud kept glaring at his own with no small amount of amusement. If he could sway her loyalty to Vongola, she might make a good little wife to the Sky brat.

To his shock, the inside of what he thought to be a small, dug out shelter was actually far bigger, with hallways leading to other rooms, and directly to their left upon entering was a kitchen, complete with a stone-lined fire pit, wooden cupboards and shelves, and a table with chairs. The floor was tightly-packed earth, covered by a… was that a bear-skin rug?!

And that wasn't even getting into the many hanging baskets with glowing rocks that provided light. There was no Flame residue on them either, which was making his men unnerved－just who was this little girl? What power did she hold?

"This is quite cozy," he commented.

The girl snorted. "That's because its home. You can take a seat here and in the living room－"－here she motioned across the entryway to the room on the right of the front door, where there were wooden benches, what was probably a coffee table, and more animal-skin rugs－"－but don't break anything. Its tiring to make so much furniture."

"Of course," Timoteo nodded amicably. This really was such an interesting find, he could hardly find it in himself to recall the annoyance of the hike. He took a seat in one of the surprisingly sturdy and comfortable chairs, watching as the girl dragged what looked to be a stone pot over to the fire pit, shoving it onto the ledge that protruded about a foot over the bottom. A glance above showed a hole in the ceiling, though the shadows in it indicated that the smoke hole was slanted.

Without another word, the girl grabbed two stones and struck them together near the bottom of the bit, coaxing a fire into existence. Then she started pulling food out of the cupboards, and a bag that must have been waterproof, as evidenced by the water in it being poured into the pot. Vegetables were chopped with experienced efficiency with a carved bone knife before being tossed in as well.

"... Nobody's going back with you," she said after a while. "We don't get involved with other humans."

If only he could ensure that, because otherwise the Vongola Don might just have left them here. But if he could find them, so could another Famiglia that the children couldn't defend against or defy. No, it was for the best that he took them back, kicking and screaming if he had to.

When no one spoke, she huffed. "Xanxus will say the same. This is our territory." She turned to the hallway at the other end of the kitchen as movement was heard.

Timoteo had to hide the urge to gap as a tiny Secondo with blazing red irises walked in with a wooden plate of raw meat, hands stained in blood, who then proceeded to glare at the 'intruders' before ignoring them in favor of starting to cook the meat on a slab of stone that was laid over one side of the fire pit. The brat's Sky Flames were practically crackling beneath his skin, making his eyes glow ever so slightly.

"The rest is already being smoked," tiny-Secondo said gruffly. "Bones are clean, too."

"Should be good for another few weeks, then. The wolves?"

"Got their own prey, that big ass badger that was trying to move in on our territory. They got the fucker good."

The girl nodded in a vicious sort of satisfaction, than jerked her head towards the Vongola. "The crows said they won't leave without their prey."

"They better learn to fucking deal with disappointment," the boy grunted, leaving the room.

"The crows _said?_" One of the nameless Mists hissed.

The girl turned to give them a deadpan look. "Just cause _you're _too stupid to learn their language doesn't mean everyone else is. They told us you were coming the moment you stepped foot into our territory, and the snakes kept an eye on you while you were making all that noise. We keep everyone well fed and they make sure we get a heads up to everything that goes on in our territory."

That… was concerning, if Timoteo was being honest. This was beginning to feel a little too much like what few records of the magical society the Vongola had… if the girl had magic, she was self-taught, but even he knew that necessity always made those self-taught the most dangerous. She might even be able to track this Xanxus down even if they left her behind. That could pose a problem, as he didn't particularly want to kill the little girl. Even his weak Intuition told him that would be a Very Bad Idea.

"That sounds like a useful gift," was all he said out loud, though he did share a meaningful look with his Guardians.

XxXxX

They stayed for a week.

Thorn really did not like the men that had come into their territory. Her instincts were displeased at their presence, but she knew that attempting to get rid of them could only end badly for her and Xanxus. They both had known immediately that Timoteo was lying when the man claimed Xanxus was his son, and said so.

"There's no blood connection," Thorn explained bluntly. "I'd be able to sense the link between you if there were." That was a skill they'd discovered long before leaving the slums. By this point, both she and Xanxus had accepted their instincts telling them that they would have to leave with the old man and his regardless. "Whatever your reasons are just say so, we aren't stupid. It's probably just greed anyways, you want Xanxus' flame and my power, right?"

Timoteo seemed taken aback by her shutting him down, but didn't deny it. Instead his gaze seemed to sharpen. "Fine then. Yes, we want both of you for the Vongola. We cannot risk you falling into the hands of any other Famiglia, regardless of your wants. But I do truly believe that Xanxus is related to Vongola Secondo, due to the nature of his Flames."

Green eyes searched the old man's face before turning to her Sky－they'd had _discussions_ about the mafia and Flames once it became clear that they did not have the skill to make the stupid humans leave without their prey.

Xanxus was silent for a long while, before he finally scowled fiercely. "Fucking fine, we'll go with you trash. But only because you manned the fuck up and didn't try to stick with that bullshit 'bastard son' excuse. So how's it gonna go, we join the ranks or some shit?"

"As a Sky, you'll have more opportunities than other orphans who join the Famiglia. As Thorn is already your Cloud Guardian, you will still need to find the rest of your Elements. I believe it would be best to take you on as a ward of the family, and if you perform well I might properly adopt you－the previous Donna can teach you how to use your Flames, and tutor your Cloud while I sponsor you in the Mafia Academy. You will be expected to excel in your studies as a ward of the family."

"You need to find someone to teach us how to read, then, first," Thorn frowned, mind whirling as she came up with plans to share with her partner once they were alone. If they couldn't escape the Vongola, then they sure as hell weren't going to just roll over and become little puppets to this man. "We left the slums a while back, and it's not like anybody has books there. _I only know a bit cause I stole Dudley's old primers, but that won't help with Italian,"_ she directed at Xanxus in English.

"_Whatever, we'll manage,_" he replied.

"You know English?" Visconti－the other Cloud who was _intruding on Thorn's territory__－_questioned.

"I'm British," Thorn replied flatly. "I taught Xanxus English while he taught me Italian."

Timoteo looked pleased, and Thorn resisted the urge to scowl at him. Instead she laid out a plan to pack the things they would be taking with－some clothes to hold them over until they got the new ones the mafia Don insisted on, the collection of crystals and river stones that Thorn had found worked well with her magic, and a few of their nicest pelts to be used in custom clothing for both children. She shrunk everything and put it all in one of their bags, much to the shock of the mafioso they were unwillingly hosting.

Then they cleared out anything that would rot, and Thorn created a dirt ramp down into the garden for the deer and other animals to use to eat the plants so the fruit and vegetables wouldn't rot either. After all that was done, Thorn willed the actual house into a sort of stasis, sealed off from the world. She wanted to have a clean place to come back to just in case.

The morning they left, the animals of their territory came out in droves to see them off. It clearly unnerved the adults, something the two children took great pleasure in, but the farewell was actually a very serious affair. These animals had basically been their family and wards for years now.

Even the wolves, Xanxus' rivals and occasional hunting partners, showed up to see them off, escorting the entire group back to the large cars at the edge of the woods. A pair of snakes caught rides on long limbs, and when they arrived at the cars, make their way over to Thorn.

_$We will come too, little Speaker$_ The largest, an adult grass snake that sounded like a female, announced as they slithered up to wrap around Thorn's ribs. The meadow viper didn't bother saying anything, instead climbing up to take over her left arm.

_$Just don't bite anyone, these annoying humans have power we don't yet understand,$_ Thorn hissed to both of them. _$Watch them, until we know how to best them.$_

_$Hunt then,$_ Xanxus added, his own snake-speech significantly accented and broken but passable for someone who'd had to learn the language from scratch. Thorn had had the advantage of always being able to understand and speak to snakes, and had taught him the best she could when he asked. He had an easier time with crows, as for them he just had to learn to understand and not speak, which was helpful because cawing was hell on the throat.

_$Very well, Speakers,$_ the meadow viper, now identified as male from the rhythm of his hissing, dipped his head in assent, curling farther around Thorn's arm, much to the bug-eyed dismay of some of the adults.

"That's a venemous snake," one of their human escorts squeaked.

"Yes, quite lovely, isn't he? They've decided to tag along," Thorn informed him seriously. "Don't worry, they won't attack unless we're attacked first. Try not to make any sudden movements though, these little ones might be a little jumpy until they get used to you."

The other Cloud that she very much disliked turned a rather entertaining shade of gray-green.

XxXxX

Xanxus was holding onto his control by the tips of his nails. At his side, Thorn's presence seem to darken, shadows becoming a little more solid, eyes glowing that eerie way she had when she was pissed. The idiot tutor they'd been assigned was either arrogant in believing nothing the two young ones could do would affect him, or was truly too stupid to notice.

The tutor was in the middle of yet another rant about street rats and bastards, which they could ignore, but then he'd gone after Xanxus' mother, and something inside the Sky was dangerously close to snapping. His Thorn noticed the warning signs, and after a few moments of deep thought, snapped her fingers. The tutor's voice cut off abruptly, but he kept moving his mouth for several seconds until he realized he was no longer able to make any sound.

"Better," Xanxus grunted, now able to ignore the fucker and focus back on the workbook the tutor had been supposed to be helping with. "Now what the hell is this supposed to mean."

"Order of operations," Thorn replied shortly, inspecting her own copy of the workbook. "Two chapters ago."

"Why couldn't the fucker have just said that instead of the rest of that bullshit," the boy snapped, already moving to complete the page of practice problems. Xanxus wasn't stupid－far from it, he was actually highly intelligent－but he wasn't the type to work with 'subtle hints'. Especially when they were all basically veiled threats and insults with little to no actual hints.

Ignoring the furious and slightly frightened tutor's increasingly wild－and still silent－attempts to demand Thorn remove or undo whatever she'd done, his Cloud snorted. "It seems that books skills don't necessarily transfer over to being able to teach. I will ask Madam Ottavia if we can do self study until we're ready to enter the academy."

"We'll get more done that way," he replied, still irritable but no longer on the edge of losing himself to his rage. "This trash hasn't bothered teaching us a damned thing. And somehow Nono thinks that he's the best at both math and history."

"I've learned more about local history from the local snakes than I have from this… individual," Thorn barely refrained from sneering in their still-silent tutor's direction. _$Speaking of, the snakes in the gardens have heard rumors of how to create a 'King of Serpents', one whose very gaze can kill when fully matured. I'll tell your more about what they told me later.$_

_$Sounds good.$_

A King of Serpents… How interesting.

XxXxX

"Erm... what are you two doing with that many toads?"

Frederico Vongola watched, bemused, as his family's new ward and the boy's Cloud stacked up the plastic containers they had caught nearly a dozen toads from the garden in. He had to admit, he rather liked Xanxus－and despite how distant the relation, he was happy to have the boy as his cousin. He just didn't think Xanxus was going to use those toads for pranks.

"Magic," Thorn said shortly. "Hatching the King."

"At least one of these fucks will get us a big ass snake."

"... Ah," Frederico said flatly. Of course it was something dangerous. Everyone in the Iron Fortress was aware that Thorn could control snakes, and usually had at least two concealed on her person at all times.

While some of the higher ups in the mafia new about the magical enclaves, rarely did a magical activate their Flames. For Xanxus to have drawn a magical Cloud in was both incredible and slightly worrying, considering their inclination towards mass property damage. Frederico wasn't sure he wanted to know the details of the children's current experiment; blending Flames and magic was not very well recorded as it was so rare.

The idea of a very large snake being under control of the tiny terrors made him shudder and make a mental note to himself not to piss off the kids.

"Well, be careful and have fun," he managed to say brightly before he turned on his heel and left. He wanted no part in this.


	2. Deathchild - CH 1

Sawada Tsunami knew how to hide. It was a necessity, something learned via harsh lessons with painful consequences if she failed. It didn't matter to anyone, it seemed, that she was just a six year old girl－her bullies left bruises and cuts and scrapes all the same. It didn't seem to matter that her only 'crimes' were having a harder time in class, and being oddly clumsy. No, there was no mercy in Namimori for somebody like her.

Ever since the old man had taken away her fire, made her cold like the worst winter day with sharp winds all trapped inside her body, making her numb and tired, it was as if every single person in town had suddenly decided that she deserved to be punished.

So she learned to hide.

To look for small nooks and crannies that the others overlooked, only able to be used because of her small size compared to even her classmates. To duck out of sight and move quietly, even though she was clumsy. To map out places that she could lose those who hunted her, those who stared or sneered and made not-so-quiet comments.

And it was the long-practiced art of hiding that led her to the place beyond the shrine, the place that would change _everything_. You see, the shrine was sort of a safe zone. If she could get up there, passed all the stairs, nobody ever bothered to follow her.

The problem lay in getting that far in the first place, but if there was one semi-positive thing that had come from all the frantic running away, it was her stamina. Usually she could make it up the stairs after only a single round of after school bruising.

This time, though, it was much worse than the usual shoves against the wall that left her back aching, more than grabbing her arms to leave dark fingerprints after they'd shoved her around. No, this time one of the upperclassmen－an eight year old, all of them so young and yet so violent－had cracked her head so hard against the wall that she'd been seeing double and occasionally triple ever since. She couldn't think clearly, ears ringing, and she was pretty sure that warm red stuff was blood, tacky on her face and hands.

Somehow she made it to the shrine without passing out, feet remembering the way even when she stumbled and fell much more than usual. But then something odd happened, something that she wouldn't understand for a very long time.

She stumbled, and she caught herself by supporting her arm on a nearby large rock－it was an odd thing she'd noticed before but had shrugged off, smooth where the rest were more angled and rough. Something happened when she touched it, a… a ripple, like a pebble thrown in a pond. And then she stumbled _through_ it.

It was probably the confusion on top of everything else that made her faint immediately after. She wouldn't wake up for several weeks.

XxXxX

When the blood of the young mistress came into contact with one of the disguised boundary stones of the Peverell's Japanese vacation property, it caused a surge of magic, one that woke up the slumbering house elves. On instinct, the head elf popped over to the source, blinking rapidly in the sunlight after so many centuries of hibernation.

To her horror, Akko found the young mistress unconscious and bleeding, bruises both new and old discoloring her skin. With the frantic efficiency of a house elf long used to impromptu duels sending her masters to the infirmary, she hastily popped them both back into the mansion, calling for her fellow elves.

"Aoi must bes bringing healer to help young mistress!" Akko squeaked to a nearby elf, wringing her hands and looking on with wide, worried, gold-flecked coral irises even as her mate Midori hurriedly began cleaning away the blood and torn clothes, checking to make sure there were no other injuries. "Take late master's pouch for payment, late master Giotto bes saying we take care of his family!"

It had been far too long since a magical child had been born into the main branch of the family－Akko swiftly reached out with her magic, confirming that while there was another in the extended family that she was bound to, only this young mistress was her true mistress－and there was much to be done.

The head house elf left Midori to tend to the young mistress, as he was trained to help with injured younglings, and instead turned to organizing the rest of her fellows. The house had to be cleaned, the grounds checked over, fresh food bought so they could provide for the young mistress once she'd awoken. Like a female possessed, Akko divided her 'troops' and set to restoring the glory of Blackfeather Castle.

The back of her mind was constantly on edge, as the time slipped away, and by the early hours of the evening the most important rooms were spotless thanks to anxiety-driven house elves.

Aoi returned with a very confused but determined-looking witch who had agreed to swear a vow of secrecy－Akko didn't know exactly how much time had passed since dear late master Giotto had died, but she figured things couldn't have changed too much, and that it was better to be safe about revealing the existence of the young mistress－at nightfall, who was ushered to the infirmary the second the vows had taken. The witch had immediately set to casting, working herself into a right state over the injuries their poor young mistress had suffered.

"Young mistress bes getting better?" Aoi asked hopefully after the witch, who had introduced herself as Haruno Inori, had spelled half a dozen potions from her bag into the young girl's stomach and smoothed salves over the bruises, a thick stack of parchment sitting on the bedside table.

"She will," Inori sighed, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. "The little lady will require more help than I can give at the moment, however. Her physical injuries will be taken care of by morning, but there is a vile seal on both her soul and magic."

Akko growled furiously. "We bes finding nasty wizard or witch who bes putting bad seals on the young mistress, and we bes teaching them otherwise."

Inori's lips quirked into a rather savage grin, dark eyes shimmering with violet light. "Would I that I could join you, little elf. As it is, the little lady needs a full cleansing as soon as can possibly be arranged. Are there any members of her family that could do so? If not, I think the goblins could be convinced, but it might take more time than would be advisable."

Tapping her bare foot thoughtfully, Akko snapped her fingers. The lesser family link would guide her to the right magical relative, or at least would give her somewhere to start.

"Akko bes knowing of one," she nodded enthusiastically. "Akko bes going to get them, Midori bes looking after the young mistress and Aoi bes looking after lady healer." With a small pop of displaced air, the house elf was gone.

Inori blinked, then sighed, shaking her head with a smile. Her family did not have any house elves, and she couldn't help but regret that－if she'd had even half as dedicated little elves there for her as a child, things would have gone much smoother. Leaning over to inspect her newest patient, she found herself grateful that she'd agreed to the odd elf's cryptic request. Just seeing the long list of injuries her scan had picked up was enough to make the healer fly into a rage, but on a child? One who probably weighed less than thirty pounds soaking wet? Her vows had her plotting already, on how to find out who was responsible and make them pay for it.

At least, despite the seal, the girl's magical core was developing well enough. The seal prevented accidental magic but it also applied far too much pressure on her core, risking a disastrous fracture or even worse, total rupturing, and getting it off as soon as possible was the priority.

XxXxX

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, the other arm busy with holding his exhuasted godson. He was currently going over the books for his vaults, having finally gotten around to sorting through all the bloody paperwork involved for having inherited the Lordship for the Blacks as well as the Potters. Even months after the end of the war things were crazy hectic as the wizarding world began to rebuild, almost in a frenzy as it sunk in that they were free of Voldemort once and for all.

As for himself, he'd declined to return to Hogwarts, as well as decided against becoming an Auror. There were simply too many things he needed to do. Taking care of Teddy, for one, as Andromeda's health had taken a sudden turn for the worst just months after her daughter passed away, and she had followed just two weeks ago.

Harry had been forced to secretly open up one of the older Potter properties that had been abandoned generations ago just to escape the chaos. Everybody was demanding to know when he would be joining the Ministry, when he would propose to Ginny, when he would drop everything yet again for their whims. It had gotten to the point where all he'd left were quick letters saying that he needed some time to adjust and that he'd contact his friends once he felt ready.

As for Ginny… he sighed, rubbing Teddy's back when the toddler fussed. The war had changed him. He was no longer the boy who had been Ginny's knight in shining armor, now a tired, grieving man who would do anything to stay out of the spotlight forever despite the redhead's insistence that he embrace it.

Shaking his head, he went to return to going over more paperwork when a soft pop alerted him to the arrival of a house elf. Hand instinctively going for his wand, he froze when he saw the familiar symbol stitched onto the breast of the elf's faded uniform, mind flashing back to the cloak, stone, and wand he had hidden away deep in his most secure trunk.

"Akko bes apologizing for the suddenness," the little house elf blurted, voice signifying her gender, "but this bes a matter of utmost importance! The young mistress bes needing treatment that we elves can't give her, we bes finding next closest family member with magic to help."

Harry took a moment to absorb that, shifting to give the elf his full attention. "No need to apologize for that－Akko, was it? Your mistress, is she sick?"

And _who was she_, because he'd been certain he had _no one left_, save for Teddy. The thought of another possible family member was enough to rouse him from his exhuastion.

"Young mistress bes having a nasty seal put on her magic," Akko scowled fiercely. "Her head bes bleeding when Akko found her, and her poor little arms bes all bruised up. We house elves bes finding a healer for her head and arms, but lady healer says a full cleansing needs bes arranged. We house elves can't bes doing that, but family can."

Anger bubbled up in his chest at the thought of another child suffering physical abuse like he had, and while nothing of the sort had been said his instincts and magic twisted in a way that told him it was much more likely than anything else. Curling his arm protectively around Teddy, Harry glanced around. At the moment everything important was still packed in his trunk, as he'd been practically living out of it while in the little cottage. A few flicks of his wand sent his paperwork and the books flying neatly into his backpack, and he turned back to Akko.

"Do you know how I'm related to your mistress? What is her name? And where is she right now?"

"Akko not bes sure, but Akko can feel you in the bonds of the family. Young mistress comes first, but we bes answering your call too. Young mistress has not yet awoken, we not bes knowing her name, and Blackfeather Castle is in Japan."

So it was probably a more distant relation, but still strong enough that the house elves considered him family. He'd just have to do an inheritance test with the girl at Gringotts once whatever seal (the thought of binding someone's magic made him feel ill) had been removed. Summoning his trunk, he shrunk it and put it in his bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

A break from England would probably do him good, anyways, and the thought of a child in need of help was something he would have gone along with anyways even without his magic urging him to do so.

"Take me to her, I'll do my best to help."

"Thank you, young master," Akko said with a sigh of relief, already holding out her hand.

"It's Harry," he corrected gently. "Just Harry."

Akko smiled at him, her metallic orange-pink eyes flecked with gold soft in gratitude as she popped them back to this Blackfeather Castle. Elf travel was unique, in that it wasn't painful or nauseating like apparation or port keys They arrived in what was clearly an infirmary, if one far cozier than any Harry himself had been in. The woman by the bed, who he assumed was the healer, turned to inspect him carefully, eyebrows rising when she caught sight of the fading scar on his forehead.

"_Kitai shite inakatta…_ Hari Potta, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Inori Haruno. You are the little lady's relative?" The woman spoke in slightly accented English after her brief murmur in what Harry belatedly realized must be Japanese.

"We'll have to do some sort of test to see exactly how," he said by way of reply, carefully adjusting Teddy into a more comfortable position. "Akko told me she'd been hurt, do you know what happened?"

The healer's face twisted in displeasure at the reminder of her patient's situation. "Rampant, violent bullying at minimum, blatant assault and battery at worst. Now that you're here, we'll need to go to the closest magical district. The Gringotts branch there will have the proper ritual rooms to both get rid of that seal and be able to create a family tapestry."

Harry sighed, nodding as he came over to get a better look at the little girl, eyeing the gravity defying bangs of a honeyed-caramel color. She was tiny, no more than three or four years older then Teddy, and the remnants of the bruising could be seen beneath a thin sheen of some sort of salve or ointment. There was dried blood in her hair that he gently removed with a bit of wandless magic as he brushed them out of her face.

"Akko, would you be able to take us to the local Gringotts? Excellent. And Miss Haruno, would you mind carrying her? I would, but…" He trailed off sheepishly, indicating his dozing godson.

The woman's face softened, and she tucked her long black locks into the collar of her robes before carefully picking up the young girl.

"I don't mind, though I'm sure one day you'll be experienced enough to carry both." She held her free hand out to the house elf, and Harry followed suit.

Akko took them directly to the bottom step of a marble building only vaguely similar to the one in Diagon Alley. With a stern set of instructions to call for her or Midori if they needed anything at all, she popped away again, leaving the humans to head up the steps. Harry had a hard time not staring as even more mythical creatures he'd never encountered went about business as usual, foxes with many tails walking on their hind legs with strings of bells wound through their fur, what looked like vividly colored ogres, and small balls of cold blue fire that squeaked and trilled as they darted through the air.

Inori led them into the building and to the first open counter. She spoke in hushed, hurried Japanese to the goblin teller, motioning to the girl and then to Harry. He was uneasy with not being able to understand the language, kicking himself for not even thinking about it, but soon enough they were being guided through a series of long hallways and into a large room with a circular platform inscribed with a dizzying number of runes.

At least he'd managed reparations for breaking into the London branch of Gringotts, namely returning the sword of Gryffindor as well as any other goblin-made items from all his vaults.

A goblin in a silver hooded robe entered shortly after they were left there.

"Explain the issue," the goblin barked in English, getting straight to business.

"The little lady has a seal on her soul and magic," Inori said quickly, following the goblin when it sharply motioned for her to bring the girl over to the center of the ritual circle. "We humbly request a full cleansing for the child."

"And after that we request a family tapestry for her. You can charge it to the Potter vaults," Harry added. "I won't stand by and let her suffer a second longer than she has to."

"A seal? In this day in age? On a child, no less…" The goblin grumbled, hands waving as the low guttural sounds of insults in their own language switched over to a low chant as they waved the humans away from the ritual circle.

Harry had never seen a ritual of this sort before, watching in fascination as the runes lit up with orange light, flickering like fire as they sparked, a low hum reverberating through the chamber. The runes pulled at the light, creating a small dome of thin energy around the girl, and a dark umber fire rippling with black smoke began to be pulled up from beneath her skin, centered over her forehead. Narrowing his eyes at the parallels between this little girl and himself, he watched carefully.

The ritual was fairly short, and apparently painless, for thirty minutes later the runes sputtered and deactivated, the orange light fading. The goblin stepped away from the array.

"It is done. It wasn't a very powerful seal, just a tricky one. Now, bring her along, payment and the tapestry shall be taken care of in Brokefang's office."

Harry didn't bother getting annoyed with the rough attitude they were receiving, knowing it was likely because of his little excursion and theft. As long as the goblins didn't direct that treatment towards the kids, it wasn't a battle he'd bother fighting.

Brokefang was a goblin of even less words than the one that had never given their name. Paying for the ritual, potion, and fabric for the tapestry barely took a minute, and he didn't wince at the high price, then Harry allowed Inori to carefully use the silver knife to draw seven drops of blood from the still-unconscious girl to let fall into the potion. All three adults watched curiously as the potion was absorbed by the fabric, the color shifting from plain off-white to a warm cream edged in black, names spiraling into existence in all colors of the rainbow, starting with first the girl's, then her parents…

Sawada Tsunami was her name, child of Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada (nee Amamiya) Nana. Nana's line traced backwards all the way to to Antioch Peverell. Iemitsu's line, however, rapidly traced back all the way to one Giotto Potter-Vongola/Sawada Ieyasu, and went back two more generations.

Harry could now see where he was connected to little Tsunami, via Giotto's father. Giotto had likely been a spare heir that struck out on his own, while the older son was Harry's ancestor. And Harry had long since learned that the Potters were descended from Ignotus Peverell.

The relation between him and Tsunami was distant, but still magically strong enough that the house elves could find him, considering they were pretty much all that was left on the magical side. Not only that, but while Tsunami was apparently the Peverell Heiress (and he would have to make sure that stayed hidden for as long as possible) thanks to her mother (who was likely completely non-magical if the elves couldn't feel a connection), through her father she was part of a branch family of the Potters (which was, amusingly enough, a branch family of the Peverells).

She was family twice over.

"I'll need to take up magical guardianship of her too," he murmured. "And figure out what's going on with her home situation."

After that it didn't take long for him to drop by the Japanese Ministry to fill out the paperwork, his fame reaching even here though not nearly as bad as in Europe. Thanks to the Gringotts-certified tapestry it didn't take much to confirm that Tsunami's parents were entirely non-magical, his position as Lord Potter automatically granting him magical guardianship that just needed to be recorded. Thankfully Inori had been willing to translate until he could find a spell or something to help him learn Japanese.

By the time they called for Akko to take them back to Blackfeather Castle both adults were exhuasted.

"Thank you, for everything," he said to Inori once Tsunami was back in bed and Teddy settled in the one next to it. "Were the elves able to pay you? I can－"

Her soft chuckle interrupted him. "It is no problem. I would, however, like to request that you consider me as Tsunami's personal healer. I have already sworn secrecy vows, thanks to her elves quick thinking, and she has yet to receive any magical vaccines. I'd like to keep an eye on her recovery, if you don't mind."

Studying the woman carefully, Harry couldn't see any hint of a lie, but he did ask her to swear another vow of secrecy that included him and Teddy as well as Tsunami, just to keep his bases covered. After exchanging information, he agreed to keep her posted, as well as asked Akko to answer the healer's call so she could make all necessary trips to get supplies for Tsunami's treatment.

According to the goblins, the cleansing had also caused a hard reset of sorts to the girl's magical core, and she'd be out of it for a couple of weeks. That gave Harry time to get settled, contact Nana and Iemitsu, and figure out what to do from here.

XxXxX

Contacting Nana wasn't hard. What was hard was seeing how terribly mentally ill the woman was. Because it had been a full week since he'd arrived in Japan (with a freshly applied translation charm), a full seven days since the woman had seen her daughter, and Nana _hadn't even known she was missing_.

He watched in silence, struggling not to explode with anger, as the woman prattled on about her wonderful husband who worked in construction in Antarctica and her 'clumsy, no-good' daughter. In all honesty it didn't take any convincing from Inori that it would be safer in the long term to just get full legal custody of Tsunami if her mother was that unnaturally oblivious. According to Akko, who he'd asked to do some spying, Iemitsu hadn't been home since he and his boss had come to visit over a year ago, without so much as a phone call or letter.

Seeing as farther investigation showed that Tsunami's clumsiness and troubles in school had only started after that visit, it was safe to assume that he was the one who placed the seal in the first place, therefore invalidating his claim as a parent. Reporting it to the local Aurors resulted in a brief, efficient investigation that confirmed that the one who placed the seal did it at Iemitsu's request (just what sort of work involved unlawful use of Soul Fire? It sounded shady, and was simply more reason to suspect Iemitsu of worse).

The Japanese Ministry of Magic had been able to get their Italian counterpart to reveal that they had an entire hidden society of Soul Fire users (who called the magical talent 'Dying Will Flames', and contacting the mafia's own law enforcement (_draugr_, who the _fuck _thought that was a good idea?!) provided evidence that one Don Vongola had sealed little Tsunami's magic and Flames, at Iemitsu's own request. And the imbecile hadn't even stayed to check to see if there were side effects!

It caused Harry no small amount of vindictive pleasure to cast Iemitsu out of the family for the offense. Nobody hurt his family, especially not other members of the family.

Regardless, it only took two meetings with Nana to prove that she was not equipped to handle a child. The very first time they met－without Tsunami there, as she was still in Blackfeather Castle's infirmary－Nana took his words at face value. With a sinking feeling, Harry realized that he could have been literally anyone, and Nana would have waved off any talk about her daughter without ever realizing what could have happened to her.

Even Teddy, who was barely two, was more concerned about her than Nana was.

Despite hating using magic in such a way, Harry hadn't come through the war with all his morals intact. It didn't take much more than the weakest of compulsions to get Nana to sign over custody. Tsunami was part of his family, and like Teddy he had a duty to take care of her. That included protecting her from her own parents if necessary. He'd wait until Tsunami woke up so he could talk to her about it, of course, but it just wasn't safe for her to live with Nana.

Not after learning of the _multiple_ concussions that should have resulted in hospital trips being chalked up to 'clumsiness'. As for Nana herself, with the help of a single Auror it only took two days to get the woman declared mentally unfit, and sent to a specialized hospital that could hopefully sort her out. For all that she hadn't been capable of being a competent mother, she was family too, and hadn't done it on purpose. It was barely anything from his vaults to ensure she was getting the highest quality care, both mundane and magical thanks to the facility being owned by Squibs who had decided to advance magical medicine using mundane techniques and treatments.

XxXxX

When Tsunami woke up, she had no idea where she was. What was more attention-worthy was that she _wasn't cold_, and that there was a _thing_ by the bed, watching her with tears in its large blue eyes. It had huge ears, like the pictures of bats she'd seen, and she _knew_ that it would never hurt her.

"The young mistress bes awake!" The thing burst into tears, clinging to her hand.

Stunned, Tsunami just sort of sat there and let it until she felt like she could talk.

"What's going on?" That summed her feelings up nicely.

"You bes waking us house elves from a very long sleep, young mistress," another thing said, this one with eyes the color of a sunset, and sounding just as emotional as the first. "When your blood spilled on your family lands. We bes taking care of you while you healed, and finding your cousin to bes helping you."

"... I have a cousin?" She couldn't help but ask about that first. With no siblings, her mother always acting the way she did, and the man who had stolen the warmth someone she wanted to avoid forever, Tsunami had always wanted more family. Other kids at school had had older siblings come pick them up after, or had lots of fun stories that she'd overheard.

"That would be me, Tsunami-chan." The voice－a little odd in how he spoke, but she wasn't quite sure how－drew her attention to the other side of the bed, where a man with shaggy black hair and bright, _bright_ green eyes was sitting in a chair that was facing her. He looked tired, and a toddler was sitting on his lap, matching green eyes staring at her from beneath spiky brown locks. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions, but let me explain what I can first, okay?"

To her surprise, he waited until she nodded to continue.

"First thing's first, my name is Potter Harry, and I'm related to you because I share ancestors with both of your parents. We're distant relatives by blood, but very close because－well, we both have very strong magic. That means that, because I'm older, it's my responsibility to make sure you're taken care of. The reason Akko, here, was able to find you when you entered the property is because you have magic in your blood, and your blood touched the ground. Does that make sense so far? Good…

"So, you've been here for a while as you healed. I've… spoken with your mother." Harry sighed, then, and Tsuna knew that she wasn't going to like what came next. "Nana-san is very sick, Tsunami-chan. That's why she wasn't helping you the way you needed, she _couldn't._ I took her to a doctor that will be helping her get better, but that might take a long time, so until she's allowed to have visitors you'll be staying with me and Teddy here, okay?"

Nodding slowly, Tsuna swallowed, blinking against the tears. That was… that was okay, if it meant her mother would have the doctor helping her. The warmth surged, soothing, _knowing _that this was a good thing, that Harry would take care of her.

"I know it must be hard, and I just want to say thank you for being so brave, Tsunami-chan. I'm going to do my best to make sure you're safe and happy, okay? And to do that, I have a couple things I want to ask you about. Ready? Okay, first thing, do you want to stay at the school you go to now? Or do you want to start learning here at home? I can have people come here to teach you, and I can sit with you if you want."

Tsuna took a minute to think about that. School had been so hard, and the bullies made it even worse…

"Here, please," she decided, wringing her hands together. "But can you… can you make sure the people are nice?"

Harry's eyes widened, then he gave her a kind smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. But before we take care of that, let me finish explaining."

Her cousin spent the next couple hours telling Tsuna about magic, about their magical Family. How the big _castle_ they were in was hidden from everybody not inside, and that it belonged to _her_. And that when he got her new school set up she would start learning about magic, too, and there would be _field trips_ to go see all sorts of places, because magic made going far away really easy.

The next few days went by so quickly they made her dizzy. She got to talk with Haruno-sensei, the nice doctor who was in charge of keeping her healthy, and meet all the other Peverell House Elves (they were funny creatures, and very sweet, and they always got so excited when Tsuna asked them to help her that she couldn't help but smile). Harry took her back into Namimori so he could withdraw her from the elementary school.

That had led to Hibari-senpai trying to attack him, but something her Oji-san said or did had made the violent boy stop short, scowl, and dip in a very slight bow. Tsuna had squeaked when Hibari-senpai stalked over to her and patted her head.

"I will join you for magic lessons, small animal," he said, leveling Harry with a glare that just dared him to protest.

Harry just shrugged after giving the boy a long stare. "It would be good for you to have a couple friends to take lessons with, Tsunami-chan."

And that was that. Later that day they got a visit from Hibari-senpai and his mother－the fireplace in the big living room exploded in _green fire_ and they _stepped out of it_－who both became very upset when Harry eventually told them that she had been Sealed (that was what it was called, taking away the warmth), and Hibari-sama had promised Tsuna that the old man would never be allowed in Namimori ever again.

Then the beautiful woman had given Harry a long list of tutors that her own clan used, several of which were still working with Hibari-senpai. It was around that point that she had offered the older boy a tour of the castle, led by Akko, which ended with them bundled up in what the House Elf called an astronomy tower. The walls and ceiling were made of glass panels so clear it was like they weren't there at all, jointed together with gleaming silver. The tower was so tall they could practically see all of Namimori from it, something Hibari-senpai was very happy with.

Of course, over the next couple of weeks in which Hibari-senpai came by to visit using the Floo (the green fire was so cool, it made her spin really fast whenever she used it) they discovered the Blackfeather Owlery, after which Hibari-senpai had challenged Harry for the ability to come and go whenever he pleased in order to visit the vicious Peverell Owls at any time. Harry, after a brief Floo call to Hibari-sama, and an impromptu duel during which her self-proclaimed uncle (easier than calling him cousin, since he was so much older) used his wand and Hibari-senpai used his wooden tonfa.

"If only we'd had you at our side to train with during the war," Harry had said softly after he'd finally managed to stun the boy long enough to finish the fight.

Hibari-senpai came back often after that, even without lessons. It had the side effect of allowing Tsuna to become more comfortable with the vicious older boy, being able to see sides of him that few ever did. Particularly his love of birds. And the sharp-taloned Peverell Owls ("Bred for the Family," Akko told her) were definitely Hibari Kyouya's kind of bird.

Lessons had begun taking up more of Tsuna's time, split between magical and mundane. The tutors Harry hired were kind, gentle without coddling, and with their attentions Tsuna's grades soared. For the first time she could remember, learning was easy, and she wasn't forgetting what she learned. What had once been subjects to dread were now become fascinating, especially when combined with their magical counterparts.

Harry had her being tutored in maths, sciences, language (as well as learning English), history, magical history, basic potions, and dancing. She didn't have each class every day, but each session was at least two hours, not including the breaks. Kyouya joined her for magical history, language, and dancing, the latter subject something Hibari-sama had insisted all proper young Heirs needed to learn. She was slowly learning about what it meant to be Heiress Peverell, too. 

But what she loved most of all was the times she got to spend with Harry and little Teddy, the toddler's unique gift of being able to change his features endlessly fascinating to Tsuna. And Teddy was so sweet, the little brother she had never known she wanted, but now that she had him she knew she was never letting go. She loved his cheerful babble too much, loved how he would reach for her whenever she got close enough, loved the way he would copy her eyes or her hair until they looked like they were blood siblings.

And Harry, kind, quiet, sometimes far too sad Harry, who read books to her, taught her how to cook and bake, was always patient and loving. Who _understood_ what it meant to be hated for no apparent reason, to be hurt by others just because they felt like it. Who was so gently when he brushed her hair in the evenings, and when he held her hand. Who didn't hide things from her, even the messages from the healers about how her mother was doing (better, only a tiny bit, but better).

No, Tsuna was alright with rarely leaving the castle. It was plenty big enough for space, and it was where her family was. Besides, that made it all the more special when they went on family outings to town.

XxXxX

Harry rifled though the parchments on his desk, having slipped up a tad in keeping on top of all the many correspondences he had going on as both Lord Potter and Lord Black. Official business was still being taken care of, though he had spared several brief letters to his friends back in England to let them know he'd found a distant family member that fell under his guardianship and thus would not be going back until he'd at least gotten everything secured and stable on that front.

After accepting a tentative alliance with the Most Ancient and Noble Clan of Hibari, the matriarch had taken him under her wing, effortlessly guiding him through the political minefield he'd been facing in Europe. His instincts and magic had urged him to trust the powerful woman, and it was paying off in spades. Not to mention that her son was his little cousin's best friend, the boy violent (a creature inheritance, perhaps?) but highly protective of both Tsunami and Teddy.

Eyes skimming over the most recent letters from Ron and Hermione, Harry sighed. He had thought that with enough time and distance everybody would have the chance to cool down a bit, but really… all it seemed to be doing was proving that he had never really known the people he called his best friends. The fact they they were practically demanding he just leave Tsunami and come back to 'do his duty to the magical world' just reinforced that he made the right decision, coming to Japan.

He'd already gotten a howler from Ginny, which he had managed to respond to with a simple letter stating that given their vastly differing values it was for the best they part ways for good. He had children who depended on him to care for them, he refused to put them in harm's way by bringing them back to Britain.

The rest of the paperwork was swiftly sorted, and he only picked up the stack that needed immediate action to take with to the room that the children were having their history lesson in. Quietly opening the door, he slipped inside, the tutor－a highly regarded magical historian－ignoring his presence as he continued his lecture, teacher and both students bent over the maps on the large desk as the man pointed out the different locations he spoke of.

Teddy clearly did not understand a word, but the maps were beautifully drawn with various colors and moving, intricate detailing that had captured the little Metamorphmagus' attention anyways.

Smiling to himself, Harry took a seat at a desk near the door and set to finishing his paperwork, wrapping up just as the day's history lesson did. Thanking the tutor for his time, as he always did, Harry waved him out through the floo and then turned to the children.

"How were your lessons?" He asked, catching Teddy as the boy rand for him, and shifting him to one arm so he could stroke Tsunami's hair gently.

"Very good, Yamada-sensei always tells us about interesting things," Tsunami chirped, her language having adopted a distinctly formal tone from all the etiquette lessons. "And Hachiro-sensei brought out his replicas so we could see how the old battles of magical Japan were fought."

The small wooden figurines were charmed to re-enact various scenes depending on how they were arranged, and the kids loved them, which had led to a certain level of fondness for wizarding chess, for Kyouya in particular. Smiling at that, he followed Tsunami and Kyouya out into the hallway. The two immediately headed for the astronomy tower, which had become their favored spot over the past year. Akko had wound up pulling a number of futons and cushions out of storage to be arranges up there for them.

"Were there any new battles he showed you today?"

"War mages at the Hida Mountains," Kyouya replied shortly, silver eyes gleaming.

Harry was certain the boy was born into the wrong century, with his obsession with combat. It was frankly terrifying the sheer strength Kyouya had, not to mention the near-animal like instincts, and the－well, it could only be described as bloodlust. Some of that might have been enhanced by his Soul Fire aspect, but Harry took comfort in the fact that Kyouya regarded the two younger children as his to protect. Not much would get past that boy once he'd grown into his own.

Tsunami chattered as they made their way up the steps, having grown from the anxious, shy child into a wonderfully bright and happy little girl who would no doubt be formidable one day, with the Hibari matriarch as her main female role model. Watched her go from shy squeaks to eagerly and actively seeking out attention and affection he was more than happy to give.

Although… _Hm. Maybe I should let Luna and Neville come over to visit, the kids need more exposure to different kinds of people_. And Luna was _different_ indeed, while Neville would be able to keep things from getting too crazy. Plus… while he very much adored the kids, and respected Hibari-san and Inori something fierce, he missed his friends. Even if right now he didn't want to interact with Hermione or the Weasleys, he wished for familiar faces.

But at the moment he had three little faces staring up at him, waiting for a reply to a question asked while he was lost in thought. Apologizing for the slip, and refocused. He'd send off a letter later. Right now, his family－even Kyouya, the little menace－was worth more than wistful thinking.

XxXxX

Tsuna frowned at her textbook. Yes, reading the introduction into potions was interesting, and she _was_ excited for next Tuesday when Inori-sensei would be arriving to test her on her readiness to begin the subject, but… something was wrong. Her Soul Fire surged irritably at something she couldn't see or hear, something far away. They had learned about the 'Vongola Hyper Intuition' (it was really just that they had some seer blood in Giotto's line from his mother's side) last year, but never before had it been so insistent.

Setting down her book, she marched off towards Harry's office. Knocking briefly, she entered as soon as she heard his voice, and let her Fire sing. Her uncle may not have Active Soul Fire, but he was sensitive enough to it.

"Something is wrong."

Harry's head jerked up, emerald eyes sharp, and he dropped everything in his hands in favor of pulling out a map. "Tell me where, Tsunami-chan."

Her hand sought out Italy with absolutely zero input from her brain, and when Harry wandlessly _accio'_d another map, her fingers danced across the parchment to land on the south side of a city she couldn't read, much less pronounce. Even just having that information seemed to kick her intuition into overdrive, the words welling up from her Fire to spill from her lips.

"My Storm is there and he needs help."

She blinked, then the statement sank in and her Fire _roared_. The following three days was an absolute mess as her uncle wrangled with both the Japanese and Italian magical ministries about international portkeys, something about a valid exception for the Statute of Secrecy, and preparations for what would likely be a squib with Soul Fire to be taken back to Japan if Tsuna was able to find and convince her Storm, whoever they were. There was also the arguing with Kyouya about going, but in the end she flat out told him that the Storm was _hers_ in the way she was _his_, and her friend could respect that.

It did have the side effect of him allowing their Fires to bond properly, if only to solidify his claim and ensure the Storm didn't 'get any ideas'. It made Kyouya extra growl-y about her leaving, but at least he wouldn't keep fighting her on the trip, which was enough.

As for Teddy, he had been introduced to Hibari-sama's younger brother, Namimori's police commissioner, and would hopefully be distracted by the many shiny magical toys he's brought that he wouldn't fuss for the _next_ three days they'd managed to schedule the trip for.

Before Tsuna knew it, they were in Italy, a freshly applied tracking charm on her person courtesy of Harry, and her intuition guided them in a near sprint. She bolted down side roads and alley ways, even jumping clear over a small canal at one point, her Fire urging her onwards, racing out ahead of her in search of the Storm her intuition had claimed as hers.

In the distance, a spark of red tangled with a thread of her Sky, and she honed in on it like a diving eagle.

Looking back, it hadn't been her greatest idea to fly into the middle of the fight and _tackle_ a grown man off the back of a boy her age with silver hair, but it _did_ work, and the entire fight stalled long enough for Harry to arrive and start shooting off stunners.

XxXxX

Hayato stared at the slip of a girl who had saved his life, the man who accompanied her doing something with that odd stick of his that shot out light even as the girl helped him up and brushed the dirt of his clothes. Her outfit wasn't upper class the way he was used to－instead of perfectly tailored dresses and skirts, she wore high quality leggings under a burnt umber sweater dress, fit for the cold weather, and leather boots of the working kind.

Her eyes were blazing orange in a blatant show of Sky Flames.

He'd… he'd _heard_ about Skies coming to the rescue of potential Guardians that resonated with them, but－she looked like she'd been running for miles! She still hadn't caught her breath! And… Hayato blinked, rather stupidly. She was very pretty. And she was still holding his hands.

"That should do it," the man declared. "They won't remember us or even why they were chasing you to begin with."

"Why?" Hayato demanded, the words sudden and urgent. He'd only barely left the mansion a few months ago, barely discovered that everything he thought he knew had been a lie, decided to run because he didn't belong, so why were these strangers helping him? What did they want?

"Because my darling niece burst into my office in _Japan _and said her Storm was in trouble," the man said dryly.

Rocking back on his heels, Hayato jerked his head back to stare as the petite Sky－_his Sky? Please?_－who smiled shyly at him, and said something in Japanese (Lavina－his _mother's_ language, he still didn't know it, and that burned) that something in him crackled to accept.

"She said that she would like it very much if you came back to Japan with us," her uncle translated. "And that she loves your Flames, they match with her Cloud."

She had a Cloud already? At her age? But Clouds were the most difficult Flame to attract aside from Mist, she must be powerful… And she was still holding his hands.

Mind racing, Hayato mulled over the offer. He didn't know anything about this Sky, or her Famiglia－or was she Yakuza, since they came from Japan?－only that apparently she had sensed him from halfway across the _planet_, which… yeah, that was pretty incredible. She hadn't even seen him before, and she came all this way to help?

No one had… no one had ever gone to such lengths for him. His own father had allowed Bianchi to poison him for years, and yet this girl came running from another _country_ for him? And it was the birthplace of his mother to boot.

It didn't take his genius intellect to weigh up those facts and find Italy lacking, with how many times he'd been rejected by the many Famiglia, none of whom wanted to deal with a bastard. Those Sky-orange eyes looked at him and brightened, and it practically enchanted Hayato. He didn't know what would happen to him if he accepted, but he knew that it would be far better than what he had here.

Nodding resolutely, Hayato wasn't prepared for the wave of Sky Flame to rise up and _through_ him, joyfully tangling into his Storm. It was _everything _he'd heard about and more, all-consuming and gentle and warm and kind and _Home_. It left him unsteady enough that when his new Sky jumped at him to hug him he fell over, and the children toppled to the ground.

His Sky's uncle caught them, amusement obvious in the curl of his lips, before easily scooping up the both of them, one supported in the crook of each arm.

"We'd best get a move on, then, lots to do if we're to get you back to Japan quickly. You're going to have to promise to keep some secrets, but I'm sure that won't be an issue. What's your name, kid?"

"... Hayato," he said. "Hayato, Gokudera."

His Sky giggled, slowly releasing her tight grip on his neck and going back to holding his hands, the Sky-orange of her irises fading to a very warm amber. She motioned to herself.

"Tsuna."

Hayato rolled her name around in his head, cheeks pinking lightly, and could only find himself eager to learn more.

XxXxX

Harry forced down a laugh as the little silver haired boy his niece had claimed as her Storm Guardian (who was a wealth of knowledge on the widely used aspects of Soul Fire/Dying Will Flames, raised in the mafia as he was) bravely met Kyouya's icy, dangerous gaze. Of course, Hayato looked away first, but he'd held on long enough for Kyouya to let out a 'Hn' and gently bonk him with a wooden tonfa, holding it on the younger boy's forehead for a moment before wandering off.

Utterly bewildered, Hayato shot him a demanding glance, and Harry just shrugged.

"He's just like that."

The boy was still somewhat overwhelmed by the existence of magic, but beneath that was a terrifyingly brilliant mind, to the point where Harry was having flashbacks of Hermione in revision mode. He devoured every single book he was capable of reading with a single-minded fervour, the _need_ to _know_ his driving force. And Tsuna was more than happy to indulge him in showing off what little she was allowed to do, at her age.

Which wasn't much more than stuff like _Lumos _or _Wingardium Leviosa_ with a practice wand (which he only recently learned existed), but Hayato was _fascinated_. It didn't take much for Inori to run some tests and find that the boy was a squib, and give him a huge stack of introductory books on the subjects squibs could learn like any other magical－runes, potions, arithmancy, rituals, and a few other obscure arts he hadn't known about.

The boy had dove into them and only resurfaced to spend time with his Sky, and when Harry put his foot down and required him to come to meals. This was actually his first proper meeting with Kyouya, and it was hilarious.

If you had told Harry, at any point during or directly after his time at Hogwarts, that he would wind up being the guardian of three children, he would have probably gone mute from the shock. Him? In charge of _children?_ Permanently?

But that's what he was. It hadn't taken much to adopt Hayato into the house of Black (he imagined the deceased pure bloods rolling in their graves with a wide smile), and the boy just fit in with them. Teddy loved his hair, often shifting his own to match but keeping the spiky fluffiness of Tsuna's, and Hayato's green eyes were almost a perfect match with his own. It was hard not to grow ridiculously fond of the boy whenever he blushed as he realized Teddy had made them look like family.

And now, later that evening, watching the kids play fight (AKA, run like hell from Kyouya and either learn how to dodge or get whacked by a tonfa) Harry was struck by the realization that he loved this. Loved hearing the happy shouts and running feet over the carpeted floors, loved helping research and teach and lavish the little ones with attention and encouragement, living in Blackfeather Castle with them and slowly but surely exploring Namimori with the kids on their 'days off'.

"Bugger," he muttered to himself, amused. "I'm never going back to England at all, am I?"

Akko popped next to him, a grin full of fond mischief on her face. "Perhaps for vacation, Master Harry. We bes liking all the little mistress and masters to care for too much to let you go forever."

Grinning at that, Harry just shook his head and kept watching over the little ones. Maybe it was time to settle things in England, then, for good. He'd talk it over with Luna and Neville first, though. They were coming over in the morning, as he'd finally gotten around to inviting them over; they were the only two of his friends he felt safe enough to trust with the details.

He loved Ron and Hermione, but they were often overbearing, and could do quite a bit of damage without realizing it until much later. No, he wasn't willing to risk Tsuna's happiness, Teddy's happiness, Kyouya and Hayato's happiness.

Or his.


	3. Deathchild - CH 2

Tsuna watched darkly from the doorway as Inori-sensei gave Hayato a number of potions, explaining what each one did before handing it over to her Storm. To say the young heiress was displeased with the sheer amount of poison-induced damage her Storm had suffered would be a massive understatement.

The fact that after the potions did their job Inori-sensei was going to have to vanish and then regrow several parts of more than one of Hayato's internal organs just pissed her off something fierce, really. But she was glad it was being taken care of; she'd rather have her Storm healthy and happy. As a bonus she'd finally be allowed to take him flying with her, on an older broom model, but both children were looking forwards to it.

Last weekend some of her uncle's old friends had visited, and it had been Luna-ba-chan that had made some odd, round about but very concerning comment concerning the condition of Hayato's stomach, which was how they'd found out about it in the first place.

So here Tsuna was, watching over her Storm as the potions lulled him to sleep so he wouldn't feel any discomfort from the healing. He'd be out for about a week, but after that he should be good as new. Harry had spoken with their tutors already and what classes hadn't been rescheduled til after the next week would take place in the infirmary so Tsuna wouldn't have to go too far from Hayato.

Once Inori-sensei had packed up the empty vials, Tsuna entered the room and took the seat next to Hayato's bed. The healer smiled at her in reassurance.

"He'll be okay. He's a strong boy, he'll bounce back quickly."

"I know. I just have to think about how I'm going to find whoever caused it and make them pay," the girl said absently. After the fateful full-body tackle she'd performed when she first found her Storm, her uncle had added self defense classes to her schedule, and she had found that she was a natural at it. Not only that, but after some carefully constructed arguments he had relented and allowed her to begin learning a number of low-cost but very unpleasant hexes and subtle curses, knowing that she could not be swayed from

Extracting _justice_ from those who would harm her family.

"_I thought it was just a Black thing, but I guess the Peverells aren't exactly pushovers either,"_ he had said ruefully when he handed over several old books from the Black library. _"Just remember to run things by me to make sure nothing backfires."_

Another reason to love her uncle, he supported her no matter what. Even when it included introducing Teddy to the wonders of pranks for the sake of payback (Harry _might_ regret letting that joke shop owner he was friends with become her pen pal, but Tsuna thought George was amazing, and wished she could have met his twin Fred. That reminded her, she wanted to send George some charmed flowers for Fred's grave once she'd mastered the one that made the blossoms into crystals that told knock-knock jokes, Harry said Fred would have appreciated them).

"I'd say I pity whoever you find, but we both know they deserve it. I'll be back in the evening to check on Hayato-kun. Remember to eat, I'll not have you neglecting your own health while you watch over your little Storm."

"Hai, Inori-sensei. Akko would never let me forget to eat or sleep, anyways."

The healer chuckled, nodding in agreement, before bidding Tsuna good day and leaving through the infirmary's floo. Knowing that Kyouya and Teddy were both busy (the former with family lessons and the latter having his weekly outing with just Harry), Tsuna got comfortable and opened her book of hexes, jinxes, and curses, aiming to find the perfect combination to practice for once she'd discovered who'd poisoned her Hayato.

XxXxX

Harry couldn't help the soft swears her let out when the child monitoring charms he had keyed to Tsuna went off just before dawn, telling him that she had somehow managed to transport herself out of the castle and into town. Accidental apparation was likely, seeing as Tsuna was even stronger magically than he had been at her age, and he resorted to magic to get dressed quickly and order Akko to watch over the other children.

With a spin and a crack he followed the monitoring charms, finding himself acting on instinct to stun several men with guns in hand. Turning, he took in the scene. Tsuna was standing in front of a shocked woman, hand outstretched; she must have been defending against the now-unconscious man he'd felled. Behind the woman was a pale-faced boy about Tsuna's age. Sighing, Harry let his wand slip back into its holster.

"I apologize for the suddenness, but it seems my niece had to follow her instincts on this. Are you two alright?"

"Y-yes… yes, thanks to your niece's quick action. Takeshi, you're fine too, right?"

"H-hai, Kaa-chan." The poor boy was still a little dazed from what must have been an attack of some sort.

"Good," Tsuna sighed in relief, relaxing but glaring at the men still scattered about on the floor. "I felt Takeshi-kun calling, Oji-san, and there was no time to tell you. Sorry…"

"I get it, and this is exactly why I have that tracker on you," Harry smiled wryly. He paused as a man rushed in with a sword in hand, panic and fury in every movement. He recognized him as the owner of a sushi restaurant he and the children sometimes visited when they were out in the town. "Yamamoto-san, my apologies for mine and my niece's sudden intrusion."

The older man took in the scene, eyes lingering on the men sprawled on the floor of their living room before he hurried over to what must be his wife and son, fussing over them and asking a flurry of questions before he dropped to one knee in front of Tsuna.

"Thank you for protecting my family," the man said sincerely, the relief in the air palpable. "Though if I may ask how?"

Tsuna glanced over to Harry, who recalled her comment about the boy calling to her and realized she had meant his Flames. If little Takeshi was to be one of her Guardians, he would need to know of magic, and as he was underage Japan's laws allowed the parents of the Guardian to know too.

"Takeshi-kun's Flames were calling for help, and my magic reacted. Oji-san followed me and knocked out those men just a minute before you got here." Tsuna let her eyes bleed orange, showing her own Flame type, and Yamamoto's eyes widened before he nodded slowly.

"You have my thanks, little Sky. If I may, what do you mean by magic? You aren't referring to Flames?"

Harry took over then. "Just to check, your wife and child know…?"

"Yes, we're aware of Omerta," the woman nodded, sinking down into a nearby chair.

Nodding, Harry flicked his wrist to bring his wand into his hand and showed it to the family.

"There's another secret society in this world, with a similar set of secrecy laws. Given that Tsuna-chan has apparently decided to try to court your son for her Rain, under Magical Japan's laws both he and you as his parents are permitted to learn of us, though of course if you share this knowledge with other non-magicals without permission you will be arrested."

As an example to prove it, he silently cast some binding and containing spells on the downed men, before transfiguring them into small wooden figurines he then placed on the nearby table, a one handed gesture showing that the Yamamoto family could inspect them as they wished.

"The magical society refers to Flames as Soul Fire, and considers it a very rare, pure magical ability that is somehow available to non-magicals. Although our research has shown that many who can use these Flames are also capable of varying levels of magic, so that is something to keep in mind… In any case, Tsuna-chan here is the heiress to two very powerful magical families. Not only that, but she is descended from one Vongola, Giotto… though to us he's better known as _Potter_ Giotto. So technically the Vongola is a branch family of the Potters, which Tsuna-chan is the heiress, and I am the current Lord."

Harry grinned outright at the expressions that information earned.

"Her Hyper Intuition is likely what alerted her to your son's situation, and her magic instinctively brought her here to help. Of course, even if Takeshi-kun does not choose her as his Sky, we will continue to offer our support, should you need it. Tsuna-chan's Cloud has staked out Namimori as his territory, and she can get very enthusiastic about helping him keep the city safe."

"It's Hibari, isn't it?" Yamamoto asked, rueful.

Tsuna beamed, and the man huffed out a laugh, covering his face with a hand for a moment before letting it drop.

"I definitely have more questions about magic, but as for Takeshi… what do you think? You know enough about Flames to know if you want to see if you two are compatible."

The boy tilted his head in thought. "What about baseball?"

"You play baseball?" Tsuna asked. "Hayato watches it on TV sometimes, but only the Italian teams."

"Hayato-kun is her Storm," Harry explained, watching curiously as the two kids chatted, keeping one eye on Yamamoto's reactions. So far things looked fine.

XxXxX

"Uncle, I found one of my Mists and we need to get them _now_."

This sort of statement had become common enough that Harry had developed a routine; send a Patronus to the Japanese Ministry of Magic to alert the Auror and then case worker that had been saddled with churning out the paperwork for new additions to the country, arrange for a portkey to wherever was closest to where Tsunami said they needed to be, and then apparate in (guided by his niece's formiddable gift of foresight).

He also sent Akko off to the Hibaris and Yamamotos to let them know there would be a new arrival shortly and that he and Tsuna would be unavailable until farther notice. Hayato, Takeshi, and Teddy sulked at not being allowed to go, but the only reason Tsuna was coming was because only she knew how to find her Elements. Midori was sent to fetch Inori-sensei so she could prepare for any medical emergencies, and with a flick of his wand Harry had his go-bag in hand.

"Where to, sweetheart?"

"Italy again," she said in a clipped, strained voice. A quick check of the map got them coordinates, and in moments the portkey was ready to go.

This was another rescue mission, as it turned out, but far more immediately dangerous and necessary than even Hayato's had been. Human experimentation on a scale that made Harry ill to even think about, it was utterly horrifying and the man worked himself up into a fine rage, brutally Legitimizing any adult in the building they came across to find out _exactly_ what they'd done and who to.

In the end there were eighteen dead children, and three surviving boys, one of which was the first half of Tsuna's Mists. All three were in bad shape, and Harry was quick to subtly cast calming and sleeping charms in order to get them ready for a portkey back to Blackfeather Castle. Inori met them in his office, stretchers at the ready, and levitated the boys off to the infirmary, Tsuna trotting along behind.

Harry sighed, already reaching for the communication mirror that linked him to their assigned auror.


End file.
